(24 May 1999) English/Nat
Riot police fired warning shots on Monday to disperse an angry mob as the ruling Golkar Party nervously kicked off its Jakarta campaign for crucial parliamentary elections.
Scores of people, claiming they had been promised free T-shirts and 25-thousand rupiah (3 U-S dollars) each to turn up at Golkar rallies, were throwing rocks at one of the party's branch offices when the shots rang out.
The incident marks a poor start to the ruling party's election campaign in the capital, and demonstrates that its three-decade reign over Indonesian politics is under threat.
A series of rallies in Jakarta were small and tame affairs, and a new opinion poll showed the party is languishing in the popularity stakes.
An angry mob ran through the streets of Jakarta shouting in protest.
They threw rocks at one of the Golkar party's offices in the capital, demanding that party officials make good a promise of free T-shirts and 25-thousand rupiah (3 U-S dollars) each to take part in several Golkar rallies.
Riot police fired warning shots to disperse the scores of people.
There were no reports of injuries.
It was a poor start to the ruling party's election campaign in Jakarta.
Golkar is languishing in the opinion polls, and its three-decade reign over Indonesian politics is under threat.
Rallies on Monday were small and tame affairs.
A crowd of less than 1-thousand people showed up to hear party chairman Akbar Tanjung speak in central Jakarta, and there was no parade.
It's a far cry from the 32-year autocratic rule of former President Suharto, when Golkar was accustomed to landslide victories in elections that critics claimed were rigged and tainted with vote-buying.
But Tanjung remained upbeat.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"I told the people that Golkar will fight for the people. We want to make the people become better, the future of the people to become better. We would like to improve the quality of the people. We would like to improve the education of the people. That is what I told the people."
SUPER CAPTION: Akbar Tanjung, Leader, Golkar
Golkar had planned six different rallies around the capital after successfully campaigning elsewhere in the country.
At the last minute, party officials moved their main rally indoors to avoid any conflicts with supporters from other parties.
Fears of potential violence appeared to influence Golkar's poor showing.
The party has set about to reform its autocratic image and policies.
But it's still stigmatised by its close historic links to the widely unpopular Suharto, who is fending off accusations of massive corruption and human rights abuse.
Some critics want Golkar to drop out of the campaign, fearing the presence of its supporters on the streets could unleash attacks by rival parties.
But the level of violence to date has fallen far short of the mayhem of past election campaigns.
Eight other parties also held rallies in Jakarta on Monday, as part of a rotating schedule to avoid political rivals clashing on the streets.
At the city's main Istiqlal mosque, supporters of the relatively unknown People's Rule Party gathered for their first rally of the campaign.
Despite its size, the party attracted a sizeable crowd of enthusiastic supporters.
With 48 parties campaigning in the elections, minority parties are aware of the stiff competition they face in capturing votes.
On Sunday, some 80-thousand had heard Megawati Sukarnoputri, of the Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle, make her first campaign address, sparking speculation about her party.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
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